"Commander Shepard, this is Spectre Agent Kryik. He'll be joining us on the Normandy for our mission next week to Eden Prime." Captain Anderson introduced Shepard to the turian in typical military fashion.

Shepard nodded and offered her hand. The alien's claws felt strange around her fingers as he accepted and shook her hand. He seemed taller than other turians she'd met, and his fringe was a bit longer. She wondered if that was attractive among his people.

"Glad to have you aboard." She greeted him.

"The pleasure is mine." He replied graciously. "I will be observing how the crew operates on the ship as well as the Normandy's performance."

"I'm sure you'll find she's a fine ship." Shepard answered, then turned her attention to her Captain. "Sir, I need to return to my duties. There are preparations I need to see to."

"Yes, of-course, Commander." Anderson nodded to her as she politely excused herself.

Nihlus Kryik watched her leave. She was one of the few humans he'd seen with blonde hair. It had become as genetically rare as red hair had been centuries ago. Coupled with her strikingly dark eyes it was an impression he would not forget.

"I've read her reports and reviewed her records." He said, turning to Anderson. "The Council appreciates your cooperation in this matter. It will greatly benefit humanity if she is accepted."

"I'm glad you feel that way. She's one of the Alliance's best officers." Anderson replied. "I'll inform her that she'll be assisting you until our departure."

"Very well." Nihlus nodded and left the room.

He was curious about this human. After reading the reports from Elysium, he had been impressed. Meeting her, although brief, gave him a better sense of her personality. He was looking forward to working with her.

Shepard was certainly efficient at any task he gave her. Though he hardly thought sending her off like some sort of secretary to fetch his 'coffee' was fair use of her skills. She was making sure the ship was properly stocked, maned and ready to go, on top of assisting him with his own preparations. Captain Anderson had offered him a console in the ambassador's office. He was currently reading a report when the doors hissed open and Shepard walked in.

"Commander." He greeted her.

"Kryik." She nodded and assumed a military pose, hands clasped behind her back. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I was wondering if you would join me in the Embassies Lounge for lunch. I'd like to ask you a few questions about your service history."

"Everything is in my file, why do you need to ask me about it?"

"Reading a report isn't the same as hearing it from the source, and I thought you may enjoy some down time before we ship out."

Shepard made eye contact with the turian, trying to gauge his intentions. His bright green eyes stared back at her from the darkness behind the white mask of paint. He seemed to be genuine in his request and professional.

"Fine, as long as you're buying." She said.

He surprised her when he chuckled. She was glad he had a sense of humor.

"Alright, I'll pick up the tab." He said, amused. He stood up and swept a taloned hand toward the door inviting her to go ahead of him.

He chose a booth on the balcony to take advantage of the Citadel's sky and view of the trees and lake on the Presidium. He took the seat that would allow him to put his back to the wall out of habit. Shepard sat opposite him. His drink sat on the table, untouched. The light from the 'sky' refracted through the glass casting the blue color of it onto the smooth surface. Shepard kept both hands around the glass of pinkish liquid that she heavily nursed. She was nervous.

"Relax, Commander. I'm not here to interrogate you." He said calmly.

"Sorry."

She let go of her glass and let her hands settle in her lap. The dark blue of her military issue uniform amplified the lightness of her hair and the deep brown of her eyes. There was a slight blush in her cheeks.

"So, tell me about yourself. I'll start with myself if it makes you more comfortable." He offered.

"As I said before, it's all in my file. I'm not sure what you..."

He cut her off with a raised hand.

"I simply want to hear it from your point-of-view. No military guild lines or political obstacles."

Shepard tried to relax her shoulders. She was tense, like she was a teenager on her first date. She felt ridiculous for feeling that way, and she didn't understand why she should, but there is was. She could feel the warmth in her cheeks.

"I grew up on Earth. New York, mostly. Not in the nicest areas, but it was home. I did my best to avoid the gangs and drugs that ran in the streets. Joined the Alliance as soon as I was of age to get the hell outta Dodge."

She wasn't sure if he would understand the metaphor or not, but it was how she'd felt at the time.

"Why didn't you join a gang or partake in the drugs?"

"I suppose it would have made life easier to be apart of a gang. Then I would have had something of a family. As it was, I pretty much raised myself. I was in an orphanage for a while, but after you turn fourteen they kick you out. It used to be eighteen, but there just isn't room for kids to stay that long anymore."

Shepard took a long sip from her glass. If he wanted it he was gonna get it. She was going to need the liquid courage to tell it.

"I never joined because I didn't feel right about the things they did. Crime and shaking people down for 'protection money'. Everyone was poor to start with. I wanted to do something to stop them, but I was a kid and alone. There wasn't much I could do if I wanted to live through it, so I stayed out of the way. Slept in shelters, went to public school, volunteered in the kitchens to have some place safer to be." She paused for a moment. Remembering the old days was hard. She looked down at her glass on the table, ashamed of her past.

"I was born on a small mercenary outpost beyond Hierarchy space." Nihlus said, breaking into her thoughts. She looked up at him in surprise.

"That would make you..."

"An outsider among my people, yes." He interrupted.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked.

"It doesn't matter where you come from, Shepard. It doesn't dictate what you can become. The decisions you made and lessons you learned are what make you who you are."

"How did you become a Spectre?"

"I was transfered to a new ship after disobeying an order that saved the lives of my team. The turian military gave me the metal with a boot to a new crew. That's how I met Spectre Saren Arterius. He befriended me, despite my status, and groomed me for the Spectres."

"Well, it seems you're better at summing up your life than I am. Here I was spouting my past as if you were taking notes for my biography."

Nihlus grinned a bit. He was starting to like her.

"What about your military career, would you like to talk about Elysium?" He suggested.

"Elysium. The Skyllian Blitz. You want to know why I stuck my neck out? Or do you want to know how I did it? 'Cause they're both long stories." She opened both her palms and offered them to him as if the story was a physical object in her hand.

"How about how you did it, for now." He nodded to the hand representing that story.

"Okay. In short, training took over and I went into over drive. I was protecting people from bullies. Something I was able to do because I had backing from the Alliance, not to mention weapons and armor. I guess that's more a why than a how..." She shrugged. The alcohol was helping to loosen her tongue.

"The pirates had managed to breach the defense barricades. They were coming through the gap in droves. I used up most of our grenades in the first five minutes creating a lot of dead bodies for the enemy to hide behind... or under. I'm a biotic, so I used them. I would push them back then send a warp mass their way. The other soldiers and some civilians with guns filled them with lead while I held them back. Eventually the Alliance showed up and they retreated. Honestly, I'm not sure we would have lasted much longer."

"It's impressive that you were able to produce such powerful botic defenses repeatedly over a long period of time. Most asari would have found the task daunting." He took a sip from his drink.

"I'm not saying it was easy. But I wasn't going to let them take the colony. Those people were just trying to live their lives." Shepard downed the rest of the pink liquid in her glass.

"Shepard, I'm curious. Would you have done the same for a non-human colony?"

"Absolutely." She answered without hesitation. "I don't care what species they were. They were innocent people, and there home was being attacked."

Nihlus studied her for a while. There were no signals that she was telling him what he wanted to hear as an alien. No change in the pupils, or pulse in her neck. Her breathing remained regular and she had maintained eye contact, but not forced it. He believed she was being honest, or at least she believed she was.